Cyclohexanone can be produced by the hydrogenation of phenol. Cyclohexanone is commonly used in the production of ε-caprolactam, which is a raw material used in the production of nylon 6. Nylon 6 has many uses including as a raw material used in industry and manufacturing.
The hydrogenation of phenol to cyclohexanone produces a small quantity of cyclohexanol as a by-product. The cyclohexanol is difficult to separate from cyclohexanone due to unfavorable relative volatilities in distillation, leaving a by-product stream of ketone/alcohol mixture (“KA oil”) that is less desirable than its separated constituents.
Improvements in the foregoing processes are desired.